County delays decision on golf course developer

Jeff Schweers

Wednesday, May 6, 1998 | 10:03 a.m.

Deferring to the wishes of Circus Circus Enterprises, the Clark County Commission has given the three applicants vying to build a golf course at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip up to 90 days to address significant issues raised by staff.

Circus lawyer Larry Semenza asked the board Tuesday to delay the project because of those concerns, as well as the company's own questions about the impact on its own investments just north of the proposed project site.

"When Mandalay Bay is completed and the projects farther south, we will have in excess of $2.5 billion invested," Semenza said. "This facility has a tremendous impact on our property."

By a 4-1 vote, the board held off on selecting a developer to enter into contract negotiations on te construction of a golf course and recreational facility on 155 acres of county and federal land.

"When you have a neighbor with the magnitude of the investment of Circus asking us to hold it because of their investment... you have to pay respect and deference to major player like that," Commissioner Lorraine Hunt said.

The board's problem is deciding what to do with a prime piece of real estate that is highly restricted as to what can be developed on it.

"Basically we have the choice between a golf course and a cemetery, which I don't think would be appropriate for the gateway to Las Vegas," Hunt said.

Commissioner Mary Kincaid voted against a delay, saying all the issues raised would be addressed by the county during contract negotiations with whoever was picked for the job.

"Is there a real reason to postpone this? Any golf course is going to have an impact," Kincaid said. She also expressed concern that the county might be violating sealed-bid procedures by letting each proponent revise their proposals.

Kincaid said she was not sure that leaving the land vacant for a couple more years -- until a water re-use issue could be resolved by the sanitation and water districts -- was a better option.

"A golf course is a golf course is a golf course," she said.

Commissioner Lance Malone abstained, saying he had a family member who works for one of the applicants. Commission Chairwoman Yvonne Atkinson Gates was absent.

Semenza said Circus had concerns about how the project would affect construction of an exit ramp from Interstate 15 at Russell Road and frontage road that would move traffic from Los Angeles onto the Strip.

"None of the proposals addressed the resort boulevard concept or the slip ramp," Semenza said. The proposed ramp approved in 1995 crosses the northwest corner of the Bureau of Land Management portion of the lot.

Semenza said the county has paid 30 percent of design costs for the ramp, while Circus paid the rest. Yet in all the proposals the "deleterious impact is not addressed."

Semenza said Circus also was concerned about utilizing reusable water to irrigate the golf course, especially if it meant having a wastewater-treatment plant at "the gateway to the Las Vegas Strip."

The 155-acre property extends south of Russell Road between I-15 and Las Vegas Boulevard. The northern half is leased by the county from the BLM, while the southern half is controlled by McCarran International Airport.

The county sent 104 companies requests for proposals for a golf course and compatible recreational component that would be built by the successful candidate.

Each proposal had to say how much tee time would be set aside for local residents, what the charges would be and how much gross revenue would go back to the county. The proponents also had to make practice space and time available for the UNLV golf team.

But only three companies submitted proposals: a consortium formed by Rogich Communications that includes U.S. Grand Prix-Las Vegas and O.B. Sports, a joint venture between the Gary Player Golf Design Group and the Club Corporation of America, and the Billy Walters Group.

The Player venture's plans included a tennis club, while the Billy Walters Group included a 9-hole par-3 short course.

Circus and other Strip hotels objected to the Rogich group's recreational component -- a 2.2-mile Formula One race course winding through the golf course. The BLM also raised questions about the race track, and McCarran officials had safety concerns about where the grandstand would be.

Semenza said Circus wasn't opposed to a Grand Prix as long as the traffic and wastewater issues were addressed.

Sig Rogich, president of Rogich Communications, said he was pleased with the board's decision because it gives everyone an opportunity to work with county staff on addressing problem issues.

But Billy Walters said he was shocked by the board's decision because he was led to believe those problems were to be worked out with whoever was selected for the job.

"Obviously we're going to have to satisfy those impediments or we're not going to get to develop the project," Walters said. "I thought they were going to select a proponent."